Quotes
 . Robbie: I got beat up once by three kids. They took my lunch money. Maybe they got hit by a truck, and they`re upstairs right now.
Tangina: There is no death. It is only a transition to a different sphere of consciousness.
Tangina: It lies to her. It tells her things only a child can understand. It`s been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply is another child. To us, it is The Beast.
Carol Anne: They`re here.
Diane: Sweetheart, last night, when you said "They`re here.`...
Carol Anne: Can I take my goldfish to school?
Diane: Sweetheart, do you remember last night when you woke up, and you said "They`re here.`?
Carol Anne: Uh huh
Diane: Well, who did you mean?
Carol Anne: The TV People.
Robbie: She`s stoned.
Dana: Oh yeah? What do you know about it?
Robbie: More than you. Ask Dad.
Diane: TV people?
Carol Anne: Uh-huh.
Diane: Do you see them?
Carol Anne: Uh-uh. Do you?
Diane: Uh-uh.
Tangina: This house is clean.
Diane: You were saying about poltergeist.
Dr. Lesh: Poltergeists are usually associated with an individual. Hauntings seem to be connected with an area. A house usually.
Marty: Poltergeist disturbances are fairly short duration. Perhaps a couple of months. Hauntings can go on for years.
Diane: Are you telling me that all of this could just suddenly end at any time?
Dr. Lesh: Yes, it could. Unless it`s a haunting. But hauntings don`t usually revolve around living people.
Diane: Then we don`t have much time, Dr. Lesh, because my daughter is alive somewhere inside this house.
Steve: Tomorrow I`m going to call someone.
Diane: Like who? I looked in the Yellow Pages. "Furniture Movers" we`ve got; "Strange Phenomenon", there`s no listing.
Tangina: Help me tie this around my waist.
Diane: What do you think you`re doing?
Tangina: I`m going in after her.
Diane: She won`t come to you. Let me go.
Tangina: You`ve never done this before.
Diane: Neither have you.
[pause]
Tangina: You`re right. You go.
Diane: DON`T TOUCH MY BABY.
Dana: WHAT`S HAPPENING?
Diane: Bastards. She`s just a baby. Help her. Help her. Can you hear what`s happening? Help her.
Dr. Lesh: Well, I`m off. Now these tapes, I am going to have to present them you know.
Steve: But please, not on "60 Minutes".
Diane: Or "That`s Incredible."
Diane: Carol Anne - listen to me. Do NOT go into the light. Stop where you are. Turn away from it. Don`t even look at it.
Diane: We were wondering if you had experienced any... disturbances?
Ben Tuthill: What kind of disturbances?
Diane: Oh, you know... dishes or furniture, moving around by themselves.
Dr. Lesh: Some people believe that when you die there is a wonderful light. As bright as the sun but it doesn`t hurt to look into it. All the answers to all the questions you want to know are inside that light. And when you walk to it... you become a part of it forever. Now, some people die, but they don`t know they`re gone.
Tangina: Now clear your minds. It knows what scares you. It has from the very beginning. Don`t give it any help, it knows too much already.
Diane: Oh, Jesus. Don`t do that, honey. You don`t want to see mommy lying in a cigar box covered with licorice.
Diane: She just moved through me. My God. I felt her. I can smell her. It`s her. It`s her. Smell my clothes. It`s her. She`s all over me. It`s her. She`s on me. It`s her. I felt her. It`s her. It is. It`s... it is... it`s my baby. It`s my baby. She went through my soul.
Robbie: The storm is getting closer.
Dr. Lesh: Diane, the determination is to whether your home is haunted is... is not very easy. I... what I meant to say was it might very well be a poltergeist intrusion instead of a classic haunting.
Diane: Ahhh... this is probably going to be seem a little strange. We hear better on this channel. Don`t ask me why. Well... ah... I guess I will call her. Carol Anne. Ah... i t`s mommy, sweetheart. Ah, we want to talk to you. Please answer me baby. Please answer me. Please talk to me, bunny.
Marty: Look at the dog.
Diane: Are you with us now? Can you... can you say hello to daddy?
Carol Anne: Hello, daddy.
Steve: Hello, sweetpea.
Diane: It`s mommy, sweetheart.
Carol Anne: Hello, mommy.
Diane: Hello, baby. Can you see me? Can you see mommy?
Carol Anne: Mommy? Where are you? Where are you?
Diane: We`re home, baby. We`re home. Can you find me? Can you find a way to us, baby?
Carol Anne: Mommy, where are you? I can`t find you. I can`t. I`m afraid of the Light, mommy. I`m afraid of the Light.
Dr. Lesh: I`m leaving Ryan here with you. Marty won`t be coming back. I... I`m coming back. And I`ll bring some help. Try not to worry.
Steve: Not much room for pool is there?
Teague: We own all the land. We have already made arrangements to relocating the cemetery.
Steve: Oh, you`re kidding. Oh, come on. I mean that`s sacrilege, isn`t it?
Teague: Oh, don`t worry about it. After all, it`s not ancient tribal burial ground. It`s just... people. Besides we have done it before.
Tangina: Cross over children. All are welcome. All welcome. Go into the Light. There is peace and serenity in the Light.
Tangina: Y`all mind hanging back? You`re jamming my frequency.
Diane: Get away from my baby.
Tangina: No. no. no... Go down stairs and wait by Ryan and pull. Only when I say so, Only When I say.
Steve: You son of a bitch. You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn`t you? You son of a bitch, you left the bodies and you only moved the head stones. You only moved the head stones. Why? Why?
Steve: You know Teague, he won`t take "Go to Hell" for an answer.
Diane: What are you going to do?
Steve: I`m gonna give him directions.
Diane: Mmmmm... smell that mimosa.
Steve: Well you better cut a bouquet and take it with you, because we`re not staying.
Diane: [the canary has died] Oh... Oh shit, Tweety, couldn`t you have waited until a school day?
Ben Tuthill: Mosquito ever suck on you, son?
Tuthills`s Son: I don`t know, Dad.
Tangina: You can`t choose between life and death when we`re dealing with what is in between. Now tell her before it`s too late.
Diane: Run to the light, baby. Mommy is in the light.
Tangina: Tell her you`re waiting for her.
Diane: Mommy`s waiting for you in the light.
[under her breath to Tangina]
Diane: I hate you for that.
Robbie: Hey Mom! When it rots can we dig up the bones?
Carol Anne: No more!
[first lines]
Carol Anne: Hello? What do you look like? Talk louder, I can`t hear you! Hey, hello! Hello, I can`t hear you! Five. Yes. Yes. I don`t know. I don`t know.
[last lines]
Robbie: Faster! Faster!
Steve: Don`t look back!
Tangina: This house has many hearts.
[Steve opens window next to neighbors house]
Steve: We`ve got a good game going on here.
Ben Tuthill: My kids wanna watch Mr. Rogers.
Steve: I don`t care what your watching Ben, just show a little mercy with that thing!
Ben Tuthill: Move your set.
[Ben flicks remote]
Steve: Move your`s Ben.
[Steve flicks his remote]
Steve: [Steve and Ben flick each other off]
Carol Anne: [puts a twizzler in the Tweety`s coffin] For when he`s hungry.
Carol Anne: [puts a picture in Tweety`s coffin] For when he`s lonely.
Carol Anne: [puts a piece of cloth in Tweety`s coffin] For when it`s bedtime.
[breaks down in tears in Mom’s arms]
Teague: [Teague to Steve while tapping the supernaturally glaring porch-light] You afraid of burglars or you trying to attract every insect in Cuesta Verde?
Tangina: There is no death. There is only a transition to a different sphere of consciousness. Carol Anne is not like those she`s with. She is a living presence in their spiritual earthbound plain. They are attracted to the one thing about her that is different from themselves - her lifeforce. It is very strong. It gives off its own illumination. It is a light that implies life and memory of love and home and earthly pleasures, something they desperately desire but can`t have anymore. Right now, she`s the closest thing to that, and that is a terrible distraction from the real LIGHT that has finally come for them. You understand me? These souls, who for whatever reason are not at rest, are also not aware that they have passed on. They`re not part of consciousness as we know it. They linger in a perpetual dreamstate, a nightmare from which they can not awake. Inside the spectral light is salvation, a window to the next plain. They must pass through this membrane where friends are waiting to guide them to new destinies. Carol Anne must help them cross over, and she will only hear her mother`s voice. Now hold on to yourselves... There`s one more thing. A terrible presence is in there with her. So much rage, so much betrayal, I`ve never sensed anything like it. I don`t know what hovers over this house, but it was strong enough to punch a hole into this world and take your daughter away from you. It keeps Carol Anne very close to it and away from the spectral light. It LIES to her, it tells her things only a child could understand. It has been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply IS another child. To us, it is the BEAST. Now, let`s go get your daughter.
Trivia
The hands which pull the flesh off the investigator`s face in the bathroom mirror are Steven Spielberg`s.
The weird way the family members descend the stairs at the beginning of the film was created by having the actors walk backward up the stairs and playing the film in reverse. The same effect was used later in the movie during the scene showing video playback of the ghosts.
The house that gets sucked into a black hole at the end was actually a model about four feet across. The model took several weeks to complete. The shot was arranged with the camera placed directly above model, which was mounted over an industrial strength vacuum generator (the front door was facing directly up, straight at the camera). The model also had about 100 wires attached to various points of the structure. These wires went down through the back of the house, and down through the vacuum collection sack. The camera was turned on, and took 15 seconds to wind up to the required 300 frames per second. The vacuum was turned on, the wires were yanked, and several SFX guys blasted the house with pump-action shotguns. The entire scene was over in about two seconds, and they had to wait until the film was developed before they knew if they would have to do it again. Luckily, they got it right on the first take. The finished scene was sent to Steven Spielberg, who was on location shooting E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). He gave it to a projectionist, who assumed it was dailies from ET and was startled by the images. Spielberg had the remains of the model encased in perspex, and it is now sitting on his piano. The model itself was worth well over $25,000.
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* Steven Spielberg worked on this movie and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) literally back to back. Principal photography on Poltergeist ended in August of 1981, then Spielberg took a few weeks off and began work on E.T. Spielberg also supervised the visual effects for both films simultaneously (which were produced at Industrial Light & Magic under the supervision of Richard Edlund and Dennis Muren). Once post production work on Poltergeist began in early 1982, Spielberg was in total control. He was responsible for the editing of the film (Spielberg`s usual editor Michael Khan edited this film while Carol Littleton edited E.T), the final sound mixes and loops, the supervision of the visual effects, and the selection of Jerry Goldsmith as the composer of the score. Poltergeist and E.T opened to theaters nationwide only a week between each other during the summer of 1982, Poltergeist on June 4th and E.T. one week later on June 11th.
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# Steven Spielberg had a major hand in the production of this film at the same time that he was directing E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). He later said "If E.T. was a whisper, Poltergeist was a scream".
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# As an homage to his friend George Lucas, Spielberg populated the children`s bedroom with Star Wars toys. He did the same in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
To make the ghosts` movements seem more ethereal when they appeared walking down the stairs on the monitor, the director had the actors walk very slowly backwards up the staircase, then reversed the film in the final cut.
Mrs. Freeling`s line "Mmmm... smell that mimosa." is taken directly from The Uninvited (1944).
Movie on the TV in an early bedroom scene is A Guy Named Joe (1943), a film about a pilot who returns to the world as a ghost. It was later remade by Steven Spielberg into Always (1989).
The sign at the Holiday Inn reads, Welcome Dr. Fantasy and Friends. Dr. Fantasy is a nickname for producer Frank Marshall.
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# Heather O`Rourke, who played the little girl Carol-Anne, and Dominique Dunne, who played the teenage daughter, are buried in the same cemetery: Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Dunne was strangled into brain-death by her boyfriend in 1982, the year of the film`s release. Six years later, O`Rourke died of intestinal stenosis.
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# The film was originally given a R rating, but the filmmakers protested successfully and got a PG rating (the PG-13 rating did not exist at the time).
During the scene where Robbie (Oliver Robins) is being strangled, the clown`s arms became extremely tight and Robbins started to choke. When he screamed out, "I can`t breathe!" Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper thought that the boy was ad-libbing and just instructed him to look at the camera. When Spielberg saw Robbins`s face turning purple, he ran over and removed the clown`s arms from Robbins`s neck.
The sound effect for the beast that attacks the house at the end of the movie is the source for the current MGM lion roar.
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# When writers Michael Grais and `Mark Victor` first met with Steven Spielberg, they were being hired to write the film that eventually became Always (1989). When Spielberg happened to mention he also had an idea for a ghost story, Grais and Victor said they`d rather write the ghost story than Always and that`s how they got this job.
The skeletons that emerge from the swimming pool while Diane searches for help are actual skeletons. JoBeth Williams didn`t know this until after the scene was shot.
The crawling steak was done by using a real steak which was laid over a slot cut between the tiles in the counter top. Two wires were fastened to the bottom of the steak and a special effects operator, hidden under the counter, simply moved the wires to make the steak crawl like a caterpillar. A similar operation was done when Diane presents to Steven the chairs that move across the room by themselves. A wire was fastened to one of the chair`s legs under the set. An operator first wobbled the chair with the wire, then dragged the chair across to its destination.
Shirley MacLaine was offered a starring role in the film, but backed out in order to make Terms of Endearment (1983).
The shot of the chairs that position themselves in the amazing balancing act on the table was all done in one take. As the camera panned along with JoBeth Williams, who was getting some cleaning materials, several crew members quickly set an already organized pyramid of chairs on the table, then took the single chairs away before the camera scrolled back. See Goofs entry.
JoBeth Williams was hesitant about shooting the swimming pool scene because of the large amount of electrical equipment positioned over and around the pool. In order to comfort her, Steven Spielberg crawled in the pool with her to shoot the screen. Spielberg told her, "Now if a light falls in, we will both fry." The strategy worked and Williams got in the pool.
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# The Rams (then Los Angeles Rams) vs. Saints football game seen near the beginning of the film, is taken from a Monday Night Football game in 1980.
The scene in which Diane opens the bedroom door and is met with a fearsome scream was the first to be filmed.
The scene in which Marty hallucinates in the bathroom was the last to be filmed.
Both of the terrors that plague Robbie came from Steven Spielberg`s own fears as a child, a fear of clowns and a tree outside his window.
Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper wanted virtually unknown actors to play the Freelings because they wanted to add a realism to the family that would off-balance the ghost story. They felt that if the audience watched well-known stars, then it would take away from the realistic feel of the characters.
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# The swirling, flickering lights coming from the closet during the rescue scene were achieved using a very simple effect by having an aquarium full of water in front of a spotlight. Then a fan blew on the surface of the water to make it swirl.
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# The house used to film this movie is located in Simi Valley, California where it still stands today. The family who owned it when this movie was filmed still live there today.
In addition to the two times that the Beast appeared in the movie (the face that appeared in the closet and the creature that guarded the kid`s door), the script had it appearing during the scene where the family and investigators are looking at the tape of the manifestation. The giant ghost that they saw visually slowly resolved itself into the image of a face of a cruel old man: the man we know in the later films as `Reverend Henry Kane.`
A common translation of the German word "Poltergeist" is "rumbling spirit".
When Carol Anne`s mother tells her to stop watching the static because it will hurt your eyes, she turns on a movie and it is Go for Broke! (1951).
During all the horrors that proceeded while filming Poltergeist (1982), only one scene really scared Heather O`Rourke: that in which she had to hold onto the headboard, while a wind machine blew toys into the closet behind her. She fell apart; Steven Spielberg stopped everything, took her in his arms, and said that she would not have to do that scene again.
The movie`s line "They`re here!" was voted as the #69 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
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# Drew Barrymore was considered for the role of Carol Anne, but Steven Spielberg wanted someone more angelic. It was Barrymore`s audition for this role, however, that landed her a part in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
In reality, Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams are only 14 and 11 years older than Dominique Dunne, who plays their teen-aged daughter
Stephen King was briefly approached to write the screenplay. It would have been the first written by King directly for the screen, but the parties could not agree on the terms.
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# The dog`s name "E Buzz" is from a skit on the original "Saturday Night Live" with `Dan Akyroyd` (who had worked with Speilberg on "1941") playing an art critic named "E Buzz Miller".
Footage from this movie was used in a 2008 DirecTV commercial.
When Steve Freeling first meets with the university paranormal specialists, he states that his wife, Diane Freeling, was "32" at the time, and their eldest daughter, Dana, was "16". Thus, Diane was only sixteen years-old when she gave birth to Dana.
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# Though on-screen credit goes to Tobe Hooper, a wealth of evidence suggests that most of the directorial decisions were made by Steven Spielberg. In fact, Spielberg had wanted to direct the film himself, but a clause in his contract stated that while still working on E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Spielberg could not direct another film. Members of the cast and crew, including Executive Producer Frank Marshall and actress Zelda Rubinstein, have stated that Spielberg cast the film, directed the actors, and designed every single storyboard for the movie himself. Based on this evidence, the DGA opened a probe into the matter, but found no reason that co-director credit should go to Spielberg.
SPOILER: Despite being a horror/thriller film, there are no murders or fatalities depicted in the film.
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